Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivered the new Labour government’s first Budget on 30 October 2024. Amid the announcements were key changes to Capital Gains Tax (CGT) and Inheritance Tax (IHT) that could affect your financial plan. Ahead of the Budget, prime minister Keir Starmer said it would be “painful” as there was a £22 billion black hole in the public finances. Indeed, Reeves went on to announce measures that would raise…
Decades after the internet’s debut, millions of Americans still lack access to high-speed broadband service. The Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program (BEAD), part of the US government’s 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, provides $42.45 billion in federal funding to expand high-speed internet service across the country. By the end of 2024, all US states will mark an important milestone: they will be in a position to begin their…
It is perhaps no coincidence that the South Korean economy is also dominated by sprawling firms or chaebols. As we found in our study, now published as a working paper by the National Bureau of Economic Research, these large firms played a pivotal part in the growth miracle of the country of 52 million people.Using detailed firm- and sector-level data, we found that the top firms weren't just big; they became…
In an article published today in Lancet Planetary Health, a team of researchers – including several from the University of Cambridge – argue that much more needs to be done to mitigate the impacts of climate change on women, girls and gender-diverse individuals.Focusing specifically on the intersection between climate change, gender, and human health, the researchers call on countries to work harder to ensure there is gender equity within their…
Although hard to predict, even in the best of times, the fashion industry is in for a particularly tumultuous and uncertain 2025. A long-feared cyclical slowdown has arrived. Consumers, affected by the recent period of high inflation, are increasingly price sensitive. There is also the surprising rise of dupes, the acceleration of climate change, and the continued reshuffling of global trade. Regional differences, which came into focus in 2024, will…
The SCO understands existing difficulties and is taking steps to systematise multilateral cooperation, developing common goals and objectives, as well as strengthen the mechanisms for their achievement by the organisation's members.Thus, in 2023, the SCO Economic Development Strategy for the period up to 2030 was approved. In 2024, following the results of Kazakhstan's chairmanship, an Action Plan for its implementation was adopted. The institutional structure of the organisation is developing.…
The Department of Labor’s Expanded Cybersecurity Guidance: What ERISA Plan Sponsors and Fiduciaries Need to Know | Beneficially Yours Skip to content
Walt Disney’s time in Paris during the waning days of World War I helped shape him into a visionary entrepreneur who would ultimately build a beloved international brand. Dwight Eisenhower and Robert McNamara discovered the importance of humility and how to motivate subordinates from their service during military conflicts.As countries such as the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom honor their veterans this month, Harvard Business School Professor Robert…
Renewable energy is booming. Power generation from renewable sources, such as solar and wind, is projected to grow from its current share of about 25 percent of total US generation, to about 45 percent, by 2030. Although this new renewable capacity will help meet net-zero climate policy goals, it’s also contributing to power price volatility—an impact that many energy players didn’t plan for. The intermittent nature of solar and wind…
Power and gas trading is undergoing a transformation. The global trading value pool for these commodities is growing by leaps and bounds. It hit nearly $33 billion in 2023, up 50 percent from the year before. But that’s only part of the story. The rise of renewable energy has introduced greater volatility into gas and power markets, increasing the value of optionality and drawing new market entrants. This is creating unique…
Topics Column Our expert columnists offer opinion and analysis on important issues facing modern businesses and managers. More in this series subscribe-icon Subscribe Share Carolyn Geason-Beissel/MIT SMR | Getty Images Corporate sustainability efforts are seemingly facing a slump of low enthusiasm, with some tired clichés like “sustainability always costs more” resurfacing. It’s a blunt, unnuanced argument. The business case for sustainability is still sound. Broadly speaking, when done well, sustainability…
Quick Hits Missouri voters approved a ballot measure to enact a law that will require employers to allow employees to use up to fifty-six (56) or forty (40) hours of earned paid sick time per year depending on the size of the employer. Employees will be entitled to start accruing paid sick time on May 1, 2025, and employers must provide written notice of the paid sick time by April…
Our latest enhancements strengthen core network capabilities for mission-critical applications running in the cloud. In an era defined by the transformative power of AI, industries are reimagining the possibilities of predictive analytics, automation, and real-time decision-making. AI is now ubiquitous, reshaping sectors from retail and finance to healthcare and biotechnology. While new applications harness AI’s potential, it’s the evolution of existing applications through generative AI methodologies that drives exponential progress.…
African people, businesses, and nations are becoming increasingly stressed by climate-related perils like droughts, river flooding, extreme heat, and rising sea levels. This is leading not only to the destruction of assets but also challenges to lives and livelihoods—not to mention disturbing the area’s peace, stability, and national security. And the situation is getting progressively worse, partly due to people migrating out of suddenly unlivable situations.“Governments and development finance institutions…
Despite huge efforts to improve operational processes over the past 20 years, critically important management processes are left up to the discretion of each manager to define. Some are good, some are bad. It all depends on their experience. There are no standards. But, management processes drive decision-quality and productivity, especially in the information age where group-dynamic is a lever of influence. Lacking good practices, organisations evolve their own sub-optimal…
Companies globally are looking to adopt Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) technologies to boost both productivity and sustainability. However, the path to success is fraught with challenges, from outdated legacy systems to the critical need for workforce upskilling. In some cases, companies need to overcome an image problem that makes it hard to recruit and retain the talent required to fill vacant production roles.In this episode of McKinsey Talks Operations, host…
For the Russian Federation, cooperation with partners in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in multilateral and bilateral formats is one of the international priorities enshrined in the current Foreign Policy Concept of 2023 (hereinafter referred to as the FPC). Moreover, this not only details using the SCO's potential to develop relations on the Eurasian continent, in particular, to form a broad integration circuit - the Greater Eurasian Partnership (Clause 54…
Jing Jing Tsong/theispot.com Today’s top leadership priorities include attracting and retaining top talent, fostering innovative thinking and action, motivating employee performance, and enhancing stakeholder value in an increasingly diverse and competitive market. At the same time, many leaders have supported diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives to address inequities for marginalized groups. But our research shows that there is a broader opportunity to use DEI as a strategic lever in…
MOLLY WOOD: Today I’m talking to Delphine Zurkiya, senior partner at the strategy and management consulting firm McKinsey and Company, maybe you’ve heard of it. Zurkiya works at the intersection of technology and healthcare, helping medical and life sciences companies accelerate their digital and AI transformations and their growth. She’s also a member of the McKinsey Technology Council and currently leads generative AI initiatives for her division of the company.…
Although capital deployment is strongly linked to enterprise value (EV) and financial health, it has always been difficult to manage. The chemical industry is no exception.Our research finds that the chemical industry anticipates annual growth of 3 to 5 percent by 2030, a 4 percent increase in capital expenditures, and the reallocation of significant capital to meet strategic and operational objectives. At the same time, chemical companies have been grappling…
Product portfolios tend to grow. Companies add new products and variants all the time to meet specific customer needs, pursue new market opportunities, or exploit technological advances. They can also be reluctant to kill off older items, for fear of upsetting long-standing customers. Finding the sweet spot in a portfolio is an ongoing challenge. Offer too little choice and customers will choose to play elsewhere, costing the company revenue. Offer…
Topics Culture Champions Building a healthy culture is one of the most important — and hardest — leadership jobs. These articles, based on a webinar series and research by Donald Sull and CultureX, share actionable advice from leaders whose cultures produced exceptional business results and a world-class employee experience. More in this series subscribe-icon Subscribe Share Aleksandar Savic “We have a very long-tenured board member who said to me, ‘Every…
What You Need to Know: As we reported last week, paid sick leave initiatives were on the ballot and up for vote in three states – Alaska (“Ballot Measure No. 1”), Missouri (“Proposition A”), and Nebraska (“Initiative 436”). Notably, constituents in all three states have voted and passed their respective paid sick leave ballot measures[1]. The three paid sick leave mandates will go into effect on the following dates: (a)…
When people can no longer perform the everyday activities of life without some kind of assistance, the clear priority should be to ensure their health and dignity. Money should not be a prohibitive factor. Yet in too many cases, quality long-term care is hindered by financial concerns. Consider, for example, that Americans who live past the age of 70 can expect on average to spend $172,000 for long-term care over…
By London & Capital | 07 Nov, 2024 London & Capital, a leader in cross-border and international wealth management services, announces the relocation of Todd Cowan, Executive Director and Wealth Manager, from the firm’s London office to its European headquarters in Barcelona, Spain. With this strategic move, London & Capital is delivering on its commitment to enhancing the firm’s presence and commercial operations across Europe, with a particular focus upon…
The pace of AI innovation today continues to be extraordinary, and at Microsoft we are focused on helping organizations embrace it. By providing our customers with the most advanced AI technology across every product we build — combined with our unparalleled partner ecosystem and co-innovation approach — we are helping them make real progress in ways that matter. I am proud to share over 100 customer stories from this quarter…
The demand for oil and gas has returned to prepandemic levels; however, the energy transition is expected to change the demand trajectory for the industry over the medium- to long term. For oil, under all bottom-up scenarios modeled in our recent Global Energy Perspective 2024 report, demand is projected to continue to grow in the short term before plateauing over the next five to seven years and then declining due…
This commentary originally appeared in Time. The American democratic system worked even though the American Democratic party failed. Donald Trump was decisively reelected president by the largest popular vote and the most demographically diverse voting base in history without allegations of foreign election interference or domestic voting fraud. Kamala Harris performed worse than Joe Biden with Black voters, Hispanic voters, young voters, and women voters. There is hardly a major…
But, writing in the journal Nature Geoscience, an international group of scientists, including from the University of Cambridge, argue that tree planting at high latitudes will accelerate, rather than decelerate, global warming.As the climate continues to warm, trees can be planted further and further north, and large-scale tree-planting projects in the Arctic have been championed by governments and corporations as a way to mitigate the worst effects of climate change. However,…
Carolyn Geason-Beissel/MIT SMR | Getty Images Ever sat through a board meeting and wondered whether other directors or trustees are not conscious of the time or are consciously sabotaging the meeting? Do some members seem hell-bent on turning decision-making into a no-win game? You’re not alone. The line between accidental and intentional sabotage can often be as thin as your treasurer’s patience after the third hour of budget discussions. We’ve…
Today’s episode of Pioneers and Pathfinders takes a slightly different approach. We are joined by Tony Thai, a returning guest, who is the CEO and Chief Engineer of HyperDraft, a contract automation software platform for various enterprises. We’re also joined by Byong Kim, Senior Director of Technology Innovations at Seyfarth. He runs Seyfarth Labs, which is a tech R&D team that leads the way in applying emerging technologies to the…
Quick Hits The Working for Workers Five Act, 2024 amended the Occupational Health and Safety Act’s definition of “industrial establishment” to exclude any office in a private residence, and the definitions of “workplace harassment” and “workplace sexual harassment” to include virtual activities. Under the Employment Standards Act, 2000, as amended, employers can require evidence for sick leave, but cannot demand a certificate from a qualified health practitioner. Key provisions of…
In its recent decision, Canada (Privacy Commissioner) v. Facebook, Inc., 2024 FCA 140, the Federal Court of Appeal explored, defined, and explained two requirements of the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, S.C. 2000, c. 5 (PIPEDA): (1) the requirement that an organization must obtain “meaningful consent” to collect, use, or disclose any personal information; and (2) the requirement that an organization safeguard all personal information once collected. Since…
In this episode of McKinsey on Building Products, McKinsey’s podcast on software product management and engineering, McKinsey partner Rikki Singh speaks with Varun Parmar, general manager of Adobe. Throughout his career, Parmar has led product teams at technology companies that are leaders in product-led growth (PLG), such as Box, Miro, and Adobe. Their topics of discussion include how exceptional products drive growth, the importance of reducing the amount of time…
“Thought has been the father of every advance since time began. ‘I didn’t think’ has cost the worlds millions of dollars.” – Thomas J. Watson Sr. Former chairman and CEO of IBM The original slogan ‘Think’ has been prominent since C-T-R became IBM in 1924 and was the starting point for Apple’s iconic ‘Think Different’ campaign. ‘Think Different’ was a campaign that underpinned Apple’s core values and vision, rather than…
A 3D rendering of light bulb covered with green grass and blooming yellow flowers against light gray backgroundAs with many aspects of modern life, technology has a significant role to play in tackling climate change—arguably the greatest challenge our species has ever faced. But to avoid the most devastating effects of a warming planet, we’ll need to utilize not only the most cutting-edge technological tools but also the natural systems that…
Accidents involving 737 Max airplanes and Boeing’s ongoing internal struggles serve as a stark reminder that having experts is not enough: Leadership must organize expertise effectively. Pedro Monteiro November 06, 2024 Reading Time: 11 min Carolyn Geason-Beissel/MIT SMR | Getty Images In the race to recruit and deploy talent, organizations often focus on attracting highly skilled experts and then optimizing internal knowledge flow. But translating expertise into better business decisions…
Quick Hits The Colorado Attorney General’s Office recently proposed draft amendments to the Colorado Privacy Act (CPA) Rules. The draft amendments are largely focused on consumer data and implement recent changes to the CPA that reflect increased regulation of entities that collect and use biometric information and personal information relating to children under the age of eighteen. The amendments also include a new process for entities and individuals to request,…
On Oct. 2, 2024, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) published three proposals for implementing changes to the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA), one of Canada’s core environmental laws regulating toxic substances and pollution. All three proposals relate to the CEPA modernizations made in June 20231, which we first wrote about when Bill S-5, the Strengthening Environmental Protection for a Healthier Canada Act, was enacted, marking the first major update…
Generally available today, Windows Server 2025 builds on our mission to deliver a secure and high-performance Windows Server platform tailored to meet customers’ diverse needs. This release will enable you to deploy apps in any environment, whether on-premises, hybrid environments, or in the cloud. Windows Server 2025 Investing in your success with Windows Server Advanced multilayered security In an era where cybersecurity is of utmost importance (see the Microsoft Digital…